‘Blue (Da Ba Dee)’

Italian dance-pop group Eiffel 65 knew its hit track “Blue” wouldn’t win fans for its deep lyrics. They told journalists the song was more about the beat — and the “da ba dee” refrain — than about the words. The lyrics were written as an attempt to define someone’s lifestyle with one word. Choosing blue as said word led to lyrics like “I have a blue house with a blue window/ Blue is the color of all that I wear.” Descriptive, yes, but not exactly generation-defining. The finished product repeated the same few lines over and over, and featured a music video in which the band battled blue-hued aliens. Surprisingly (or not), it worked — enough people loved the tune to propel it to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1999.